Noida's loss is Gurgaon's gain

Once a hot property for realty business, Noida Extension has ceased to be of interest to any dealer or buyer. Within days of the Supreme Court canceling construction of residential flats in the area, which it said was meant to be an industrial hub, potential buyers are looking towards other satellites of Delhi – Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad.

Real estate brokers say enquiries for residential projects in Gurgaon and Faridabad have gained substantial spurt. They say the crisis in Noida Extension is beginning to mar consumer sentiment in Noida as well.

‘‘We have done more sales in Gurgaon in the last 11 days than in other areas. This also coincides with new launches from Vatika and M3M, and plot sales by DLF. Customers today feel more secure about buying in Gurgaon than Noida,’’ said Samarjit Singh, MD, Agni Property Services, a real estate services firm.

Enquiries have dwindled for Noida Extension since the Allahabad HC order on Sahberi came in mid-May. Since then, brokers in Noida have been aggressively promoting projects on the Noida Expressway as projects with safe land title.

But brokers now suspect the crisis will have an impact on overall Noida.

‘‘Our call centre gets about 36,000 calls a day, of which 3,000-4,000 calls were for affordable housing in Noida. These have dropped to 300-400 a day. The level of queries have gone up for Gurgaon and Faridabad. This will open up Faridabad and new areas in Gurgaon,’’ said Singh.

But there is a problem. Gurgaon is an entirely different market. “You can’t get a 2 BHK in Gurgaon for less than Rs 60 lakh and only 10 per cent of the stock is 2 BHK (1,300-1,400 sq ft),” says Sunny Katyal, director (marketing) at brokerage firm Investors Clinic. Even in new Gurgaon, opposite Manesar, prices for a 2 BHK units are priced at Rs 72 lakh.

Developers sold flats in Noida Extension for Rs 13 lakh (for a 1 BHK) to Rs 20 lakh (for a 2 BHK). These prices are more comparable with prices in Ghaziabad, which has also seen an increase in investor queries or prices in Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, but not Gurgaon. ‘‘Around 10-20 per cent of the buyers, who can’t wait for a home, will settle for Ghaziabad, with some compromise on location,” said Katyal.

Prices in Faridabad are more competitive (Rs 20-40 lakh) and will attract investors.